Kessrai laid down on the gentle grass-covered hill overlooking the new colony, first of many to come. They watched as countless drones darted about, busy with their work. Kessrai had been one of the chosen monarchs tasked with settling the newly terraformed world. The final frontier within their solar system. All the other worlds that could be populated already were. Kessrai themself had been born on the homeworld. A planet long since overpopulated with massive colonies ruled by ancient monarchs. With little to no chance for a young monarch like themself to establish a new colony. They would likely still be stuck living in their progenitor’s colony had they not won the lottery to be selected as a first wave colonist for the new world. They would say they were lucky as selection was advertised as random, but Kessrai knew better. Their line could be traced back to the original Monarchs on the home world. Generations of genetic memory were buried in Kessrai’s subconscious—memories which would be invaluable to the colonization effort.

  ‘So this is where you were? Planning to watch the show again?’ Kessrai didn’t bother to look up. The owner of the voice was clear, a fellow monarch named Zethgoy.

  ‘How could I not? It’s such a mystery. It’s been a year, and still no one has a clue what it is.’ Kessrai answered as they patted the spot next to them. Zethgoy happily accepted the invitation as the two tenderly intertwined their fingers. Kessrai’s progenitor had been on them to settle down with a partner for years. Kessrai was pretty sure Zethgoy would be the one. Still, neither of them was in any hurry, as they would need to merge colonies to make it official. An act neither were ready for, so few of their kind got to start their own colonies anymore. In turn, they decided to wait and enjoy things as they were for a while longer.

  As the stars came out, the show Kessrai was waiting for finally began. Across large swaths of the night sky, they could see distortions where light blurred like looking around the edges of a flame. They had first noticed roughly a year ago, and whatever it was was slowly moving closer, drifting through the solar system. No matter what instrument they used, nothing could detect it as though there was nothing at all, just the empty void of space. Still, it was something they could all see plain as day with their naked eyes.

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  At first, there had been panic and confusion, but when the anomaly passed through a gas giant without so much as a hint of interaction, things calmed down. One brave crew even sailed a leviathan right through the center. Again, nothing unexpected happened, officially at least. Kessrai had heard rumors that the crew had felt a presence or something similar. At present, the anomaly was set to pass through the home world within a few months. There was still some concern, but the scientific consensus was that the thing would pass through the planet without incident.

  As for Kessrai, they were fascinated by it, and from here on, the outermost habitable world in the solar system, there was no better view.

  ‘Umm Kess, is it just me, or is it moving?’

  ‘Of course it's moving, we have been tracking it for a year.’

  ‘No, I mean I think I can actually see it moving.’

  Kessrai squinted, while, yes, it was obviously moving, but given the relative speed and distance, that movement should be imperceptible to the naked eye. But as Kessrai looked more closely, they realized Zethgoy was right. It was moving and quickly gaining speed at that. Rather than months, it looked like it would reach the home world within minutes. Upon reaching the planet, the thing unfurled, looking more like the silhouette of a hand. After a moment, it clasped the planet. Even at this distance, their home world shone like a star from the bioluminescent colonies. Yet as soon as the hand closed, the light was gone as though nothing had ever been there.

  Panicked Kessrai reached out through their connection to their progenitor. While the distance was too great for proper communication, they would always be able to sense the other, no matter this distance. It had been a great comfort for them. That despite the distance, they could always sense their family was safe. But this time, they reached out, and there was nothing. Their connection to their progenitor and entire family on the home world was gone.